Maha Shivratri, the grand night of Shiva. On this day, the Char Pahar Pooja takes place at 4 different hours of the night & is accompanied by the Abhisheka of the Shivling. This is the culmination of the pilgrimage to Ganga Talao, where the holy water is to be used for the veneration of the Shivling. Before that, pilgrims have to offer morning prayers & pour some of the sacred water they brought back…

Reached the temple at around 8am. That’s the ideal time to avoid the long queues.

Kanwars carried by Triolet & Trou aux Biches pilgrims were exposed in the yard. I’ll come back to that later on.

First, we have to carry out the prayers. I’ve already covered a post on the temple before, so I’m gonna go through it quickly… A tent had been erected to shield off the rain, but there was no need for that as the sun was scorching our backs.

What you’re seeing here is people praying one of the two decorative tigers stationed at the entrance…

Instead the main temple, the devotees were offering the sacred water to the Shivling.

Sunny day, a crowd in colourful clothing, beautiful kanwars & devotional songs over the speakers – an experience to cherish.

The Maa Durga temple. The sheer amount of incense sticks used made it impossible to breathe.

One thing I’ve noticed is that many people do not know how to pray – they offer water where they shouldn’t (where there isn’t any water outlet), burn camphor needlessly, light up dozens of incense sticks & offer fruits and then leave them there. It’s high time for the temple caretakers (pictured above taking donations) consider putting boards with guidelines on how to pray & what not to do.

The reason why there were so many tourists today at the temple was because of the kanwars on display.

To say they were beautiful would be an understatement.

A kanwarthi.

A replica of Mangal Mahadev. Awesome.

By the time we finished with the prayers, a massive queue had already been formed.

In the parking, refreshments & food were being provided to the devotees. I must point out that all volunteers from all over the island have done a tremendous job selflessly catering for the pilgrims. Keep it up.

Thanks for recommending the post!Beautiful and colorful pics! And a better view of the Kanwars. :) BTW, I think the tiger is the vehicle of goddess Durga. Most probably protecting the temple. Check here. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dawon

Maha awesome Kanwars. The view is just wow :DAs regards the camphor and incense sticks, since some years, in Shri Vishwanath Mandir Vallee Des Pretres, people are not allowed to light camphor inside the Mandir (especially for Maha Shivratree), and incense sticks, only 2 per family, that's too, it shouldn't be left inside the Mandir (especially for Maha Shivratree). Maybe such an approach would be suitable.